So I like to try not to be biased. That is very difficult when you support a team in any sport. I have both the Falcons and the Saints as 11-5 in the NFC South. Most on the board have us whitewashing everyone ;) Regardless, see this article .....

The NFC South, according to the experts is not even a 2 horse race. They have Falcons with addition of Steven Jackson as an even better team than they were last season and we are a team that still has a terrible defence and will struggle.

Here comes the biased bit. I see the Falcons, it pains me to say, as a very good outfit. Offensively they are better with the addition of Jackson and defensively they 'should' have improved. Having said that, Jackson is getting on and I would not be surprised if he takes a firm hit or two that could jeopardise his season. The O-line has had trouble on paper and then looked like swiss cheese against the Titans. The secondary has been less than stellar in pre-season.

The Saints. Offensively the group had few or no problems yet the RB corps looks more pumped and ready to go with even greater depth. The WR corps is ridiculous and everyone is clicking. When you could have Andy Tanner as your sixth, read it, SIXTH choice WR you are in good stead. Backup TE is strong addition and best TE in the league is mended. O-line will face tests and may need to gel at Tackle but middle 3 are very solid.

Defensively the team is in transition. We know that. Will it be as bad as last year? No way. Will it still be bad? Maybe. Personnel are not stellar but I loved the reference in another post to the famous 'No-Name Defense'. Having said that, Vacarro is looking like a solid draft. Humber has stepped up, Foster has stepped up, Cameron Jordan is starting to convince me he is one of the best in the game amongst some other VERY solid names. Last year's secondary was only abysmal because there was NO pressure up top. There will be this year.

Saints went 7-9 in a forgettable campaign. A horrendous home game against KC could easily have gone the other way even in OT. A horrendous game on the road in Atlanta could easily have been a blowout win with just a couple more things going our way. That would have seen the season, a terrible season, end at 9-7.

So are we really so far away from being the best in the NFC South?

DemonicSaint

08-29-2013 06:17 PM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

"Expert".

Give me a F&^KING break!

Vrillon82

08-29-2013 07:59 PM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

True experts will tell you not to expect those teams to carry over last seasons success.

IMO 2 of 3 of those teams will not make the playoffs.

TheOak

08-29-2013 08:07 PM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

I've no reverence for one name or opinion on that page.

Gil is the only one that comes close but he is such a Dallas homer you have to take some things with a grain of salt.

SloMotion

08-30-2013 05:36 AM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

Well, I'm glad to see the "experts" (with the exception of one) have finally given up on predicting the Philadelphia Eagles to win their division year-after-year ... unfortunately, it looks like everyone's replaced that misguided pick with forecasting Can't-lanta to win Super Bowls, :lol:.

Beastmode

08-30-2013 06:11 AM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

Losing every preseason game isn't a problem, it's the way they lost them. Anybody can see they have a serious problem that can't be fixed anytime soon.

Rugby Saint II

08-30-2013 03:30 PM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

Saints went 7-9 in a forgettable campaign. A horrendous home game against KC could easily have gone the other way even in OT. A horrendous game on the road in Atlanta could easily have been a blowout win with just a couple more things going our way. That would have seen the season, a terrible season, end at 9-7.

We might have missed out on some real impact players this year if we drafted any later. We were lucky that Vaccaro slid to us and the third round was awesome. This may be the best draft in a long time........since '06 anyway.:p

Our record was 7-9 and we drafted 15th I believe.........the future starts here. I'm not looking back. Who Dat! :bng:

Oh yeah, screw you Godhell. :brood:

homerj07

08-30-2013 05:37 PM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

Expert = Paid to have your head shoved so far up your own ass, you have to fart to speak!!

:moon:

B_Dub_Saint

08-30-2013 11:08 PM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

Expert at suckling balls in his mouth.

xan

08-30-2013 11:21 PM

Re: Experts NFC Playoff Predictions

I'm an expert because I am only wrong 60% of the time. I hardly think that they are in my class.